For You in Full Bloom
by pirouetta
Summary: A flower may wilt, but it will blossom again. Crushshipping for the YGO Fanfiction Contest S10R1.


For You in Full Bloom

_Shizuka liked wisterias. She went on a school trip to Kitakyushu when she was younger, and on one of the days they visited the Kawachi Fuji Gardens. It was there she had her first glimpse of wisteria, and had immediately fallen in love with the hanging flowers, that seemed to her as if they were waving at her as she passed them. Shizuka remembered bawling when the day was over, reluctant to leave the sight of the wisteria, until the teacher lifted her into his arms so that they could return to their living accommodations._

_When she was old enough, she asked her mother if she could grow her own wisteria. "You may," her mum had said after some consideration. "But only if you promise that you'll get your A grades, okay?"_

_Shizuka had pouted at that, but decided to fulfill her mother's requirement anyway. She usually averaged a low B in her subjects, but she studied hard after school each day, doing many extra assignments on top of her usual schoolwork. The report card was given out at the end of the term; Shizuka had scored the A's that she wanted, except in mathematics. She handed her report card to her mother that night, tears threatening to spill._

"_It's alright, sweetie," her mother had placed the card on the table and brushed away a teardrop on Shizuka's cheek with a thumb. "You've worked so hard this time, so I guess you deserve your reward."_

"_Really, mum?" Shizuka had murmured meekly. Her mother nodded, and she wrapped her short arms around her mum's waist. "Thank you! I'll take care of it really well!"_

_And take care of it she did. She gathered a bunch of books from the library to take notes on the things she would need to do to cultivate wisteria properly, and had some help from her mother the first few weeks she received her wisteria. The plant was placed by their window, where the sun would hit it nicely; Shizuka made sure to prune the plant when necessary, and occasionally fed it some fertilizers._

_Shizuka's work finally paid off when three years later, the first bud appeared on one of the branches. "Mum! Mum! My wisteria! It's getting flowers!" Shizuka bounced up and down and announced to her mother when the older stepped into the house after a busy day._

"_That's great, Shizuka! Now watch it closely over the next few days, and make sure you get some nice photographs!"_

_Shizuka took many lovely pictures of her blooming wisteria with a Kodak camera over the next week, documenting its progress from bud to full bloom. She was disappointed as she watched the wisteria flowers gradually wilt one by one the week after. Her mother told her they'd bloom again next year, but a year seemed like a really long stretch of time for young Shizuka._

_It turns out they couldn't wait a year. Their apartment building was to be taken down and replaced with a new block of offices. Shizuka thought she would be able to take her wisteria with her when they moved to their new flat across town, but her mother shook her head, even though Shizuka had whined each day about it. "Our new flat doesn't have the right conditions for wisteria to grow," which was true; the only window in the flat faced a brick wall. "We'll have to give it to someone else. I'm sure they'll shower the wisteria with lots of love like you did, Shizuka."_

_She spent all the time she could beside her wisteria, admiring how its gnarled branches twisted towards the sun. The plant would need a final pruning before being handed over to a colleague of her mother's. "I'll miss you lots," Shizuka murmured wistfully as she fingered one of the branches. "I'll get the shears."_

_Her vision momentarily disappeared as she stood up. Shizuka placed her hands on the window sill to stabilize herself, waiting for her sight to return. Shizuka thought it weird, the amount of time that it took for her to see again, but she brushed it off and asked her mother where the shears had been packed. She had another blackout on the way back with the equipment, but again thought of it as nothing, and quickly started on the pruning process._

_Snip, snip, snip went the shears as branch after branch fell upon the table and floor. They could be cleared later, anyway. Shizuka fell into the comfort of this reassuring sound, a routine that she had been so familiar with in the past years._

_Her vision was getting blurry. Shizuka rubbed at her eyes with a sleeve, but her vision didn't get better. "I'll take a nap after this…" she murmured to herself. Shizuka continued her work at a slower pace, rubbing her eyes now and then in the hopes that her vision would be clearer, but it was no use._

_She decided to pause for when her eyes started getting tired; as she put down the shears, a sharp pain entered her head, and all she could remember was a final glimpse of wisteria, before all faded to black._

* * *

><p>"There's way too much homework these days!" Ashiya grumbled as she and Shizuka walked across the pathway that led to their dorm. "Is Takahara-sensei crazy?"<p>

"Probably a little," Shizuka agreed. "I was hoping they would be more on the practical side, but they're all research essays! Time to spend more time in the library."

"Don't you have that date with Otogi later?" Ashiya cocked her head and shifted the laptop in her arms into a more comfortable position.

"I… I think I should end things with him."

"Wait, what?" Ashiya all but screamed. "He's not treating you badly, is he?"

Shizuka let out a puff of air. "I feel that he loves himself more than he loves me. Ever since we've started dating, Ryuji's cancelled four out of every five dates we've had! He didn't even deign to inform me before doing so. This date probably won't happen either."

"Hmm, I see your point," the taller girl nodded. "Your brother's going to go after him no matter what you say."

"We'll just wish him luck then."

They climbed up the stairs when they reached the building, once again lamenting to each other the fact that they didn't have an elevator. Three flights of stairs were still a lot for those days when they had heavy loads of laptops, books and papers.

"Dear bed, how I've missed you!" Ashiya draped herself over the bottom bunk as Shizuka climbed up to the upper bunk. "Shizuka, any word from Otogi?"

"Not at all," Shizuka frowned as she went through her text messages. It wasn't in her habit to take her cell phone to class, afraid of its distracting nature. "There's extra band practice, some advertisements… this is infuriating."

"Give him a call?"

"Not until he calls me fir-oh!"

Shizuka's cell phone jingled. A text message.

_Can't make it tonight babe. Have fun without me! Love you sweetheart!_

"'Can't make it tonight babe. Have fun without me! Love you sweetheart!'" Shizuka repeated the message aloud in a disdainful voice. "Ugh! At least learn to schedule your time for me! I'm calling him," she climbed off the bunk and strode towards the door.

"Good luck," her roommate called. "Try not to traumatize the guy too badly, yeah?"

"No guarantees!" Shizuka shut the door behind her and leaned against the opposite wall. She looked through her contacts for Ryuji's number and pressed the call button.

"Hey Shizuka!" Ryuji chirped from the other end. "Miss me already?"

"Not really," Shizuka gritted her teeth. "I've had it with you."

"Hmm? It's a very important meeting I have tonight, Shizuka. The client has a very attractive proposal-"

"It's not that. This isn't the first time we're having this discussion. You've never been able to schedule your time for me. I've even rearranged my timetable with the band to meet you but you don't even call to tell me you won't be making it while I'm shivering in the cold waiting for you!"

"… Shizuka, I'll improve next time, fine?"

"That's what you always say!" Shizuka was aware that her voice was getting loud enough to ricochet off the walls, so she lowered it. "That's the same thing you say every single time. I've been patient enough with you for the past year, but I don't think you love me enough to reciprocate that."

"I'm sorry, okay?"

"Okay, but that's not what you should be sorry for. Let's end this."

"… Shizuka! You can't be serious-"

"To be honest, excluding your unpunctuality and lack of tact, you're a good person. However… I haven't been able to harbor the same feelings you have for me."

"… You've thought this through?"

"Yes, I have," Shizuka had been mulling over their relationship for quite some time now. She had even discussed it with Anzu over a cup of coffee the other day, and the older girl had agreed that this would be the best course of action. There was no use in forcing feelings that didn't exist.

"… Look, let's discuss this another day. I don't have the time to talk now."

"Fine, bye." Shizuka ended the call before she could hear the other's reply. She thought she would be in tears, or at least somewhat saddened when she finally broke it off with Ryuji, but a comforting serenity was setting over her heart.

Ashiya had her head buried under the covers when Shizuka returned. The latter had just taken out two cups of instant ramen from a cabinet when the former's voice rang out, "how did it go?"

"Splendidly," Shizuka sighed, and prepared the hot water kettle to boil. "I ended things with Ryuji, but I don't think he's going to accept it for awhile."

"Well, guys like him are probably more used to dumping girls than being dumped. Are you telling your brother?"

"… Yeah. He'd be so elated to have an opportunity to kick Ryuji's ass."

"A mighty fine one, that is."

Both girls giggled at this, and moved on to lighter topics to talk about, like the tuft of hair that constantly fell over Takahara-sensei's face and how he would blow it away every ten seconds only for it to fall back again, or the latest celebrity gossip on the news. More lamenting over their research essays over piping hot cups of ramen, and then they left for the library to scour for reference books.

* * *

><p>It was an hour to midnight when they returned; Ashiya had made a dash for the bed and promptly fell asleep when her head hit the pillow, while Shizuka opted to stay up to read the stack of books they had obtained from the library.<p>

"'Hideyoshi issued an edict expelling Christian missionaries in 1587…'" Shizuka tagged the page with a sticker, before moving on to the next one. Halfway through a paragraph on the Battle of Azukizaka, her phone jingled for the second time that night. "It's from Honda…"

_Just heard from Ryuji that you dumped him. Jou's eager to throw some punches._

"Just like big brother…" she whispered while shaking her head, before sending a reply.

_Tell him not to hit the face!_

And a reply: _Does that mean I can?_ _(^_-)_

Shizuka shook her head as she replied with a negative. They continued exchanging messages for the next hour, which was mostly a game of 'which parts of Ryuji can Shizuka's overprotective brother hit'.

_Hey, does this mean I can pursue you now? _

Shizuka blinked at Honda's most recent message. She knew that Honda's had a crush on her in high school, but never thought that he still had it. She held off responding to the message, opting to focus on the text in front of her, but she found her eyes straying to her cell phone at the side.

Both Honda and Ryuji had fallen for her about the same time. She wasn't quite aware of it until a couple of years had passed and she had grown up a little, but to say she was flattered was an understatement. Shizuka didn't think she was pretty, just your average high school student; she didn't bother to spruce herself at all and to this day, she still didn't know how to apply eyeliner without smudging it all over and looking like a panda. To have two guys chasing after her simultaneously… she thought it was the kind of thing to happen with the popular girls, like they did in the movies.

Ryuji had been the first to make his move, of course. It was just over a year ago, when the cherry blossoms were ready to bloom. Adhering to the season, Ryuji had showed up at her doorstep one day, and confessed to her with a bouquet of cherry blossoms. His confession must have been one of the most cliché she'd ever heard, but she saw the sincerity in his eyes, and accepted his affections, thinking that she would not have anything to lose. Honda was pretty much a slobbering mess when he found out, and Jounouchi had given some kind of man-to-man talk to Ryuji, which left the latter white-faced. She started attending Domino University that same year; they met up almost every week for the first month or two, but that number soon dwindled. There were times when they didn't see each other for two months straight, which led Serenity to doubt the legitimacy of their relationship.

Shizuka glanced at her cell phone again, before picking it up.

_As long as my brother agrees, yes._

* * *

><p>One week had gone by in a flash. Honda had not sent any other messages since that night; Ryuji had not contacted her either. It continued nagging at the back of her head, and she tried to ignore it by immersing herself in thoughts of schoolwork and club activities. That evening Ashiya was out with some girlfriends of hers and Shizuka had stayed in to finish up some extra credit work.<p>

"Hey, delivery for you," Ashiya said when she entered the dorm later that night, holding the door open with a shoulder. "This just came for you in the mail."

"Hold on, I'm just about done with this essay…" Shizuka muttered, rapidly typing on her laptop. "And… done! What is it?"

"I didn't check, but looks like you've got a secret admirer!" Ashiya sang the last two words as she brandished the item.

Shizuka glanced at it and gasped, a broad smile taking over her face. "Wisteria?"

In her roommate's arms was a large bouquet of the purple flowers she loved, wrapped clumsily in pink crepe paper, but nevertheless a heartwarming sight. A few petals were starting to wilt, but it didn't matter. Shizuka took it into her hands, caressing the petals with tender fingers.

"A card came with it," Ashiya handed over said card; Shizuka took it and read the interior.

_Shizuka,_

_Please welcome me into your heart._

_Hiroto Honda_

_P.S. Jou's said yes, only after he gave me a black eye._

"Hmm? Someone you know?" Ashiya enquired, reading over Shizuka's shoulder.

Shizuka jumped. "Privacy, Ashiya! Anyway, yeah, he's my brother's best friend," Shizuka said. "I've never told him that wisteria were my favourite flowers, though."

"Hey, this guy's pretty good! I mean, he's already able to read your heart."

"… I don't know, it hasn't been long since I broke up with Ryuji," Shizuka placed the bouquet to the side, gave it a longing glance, and shoved the card under some papers. "We'll see what he comes up with next."

* * *

><p>There was no way Shizuka could take care of the wisteria with the busy schedule she had; it was saddening to once again see the flowers wilt. Honda had sent another bouquet almost immediately after, though. This time, the wisterias were white.<p>

"'I'll keep waiting for you,'" Shizuka read the card aloud. She had no doubt that Honda would uphold his words. He had already been waiting for four years now, what were a few more?

"Wisterias only bloom in May, right?" Ashiya remarked, scribbling furiously in a notebook.

"It depends on the location. Some may bloom earlier."

"Mmm. Don't leave him hanging too much longer."

"Don't worry, I won't," Shizuka said, climbing up her bunk to retrieve her cell phone and scampering to the door. "I'll call him now."

"… Now? Woah, Shizuka-"

She didn't hear the rest of her roommate's words as Shizuka shut the door behind her. She leaned against the same wall she did when she broke up with Ryuji almost a month ago, and called Honda.

"Hello?"

"Honda, hey. I've received your flowers."

"So you have, huh? I was getting worried since I didn't hear from you." Shizuka could almost picture Honda scratching his head, a tendency of his when he was embarrassed. "I hope I didn't sound too cheesy in them."

"Just a little," Shizuka said, lifting her back off the wall and walking toward the end of the hallway, where there was a small balcony that overlooked the park. She needed some fresh air. "How did you know that wisterias are my favourite?"

"They are?" Honda sounded genuinely surprised. "I was just… I researched some flowers and thought wisteria suited you, like your welcoming personality, and your ability to withstand anything."

"… Thanks, Honda."

"Um, so, if you don't mind me asking…" Shizuka felt a tap on her shoulder, and she startled, almost dropping her cell phone. She whipped around to see who it was.

"Honda? What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd come check on you, since my current workplace is nearby," the brunet shrugged, a tinge of red on the tips of his ears as he tucked his cell phone into a jean pocket. He had another bouquet of wisteria with him; the flowers were pink. "Um, yeah. So, did you like the flowers- wait, you said you did, um… here." He shoved the bouquet towards Shizuka.

"Th-thanks," Shizuka murmured, feeling hot all of a sudden. She took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh scent of the flowers, one that she would never tire of.

"And a card. For you." Honda handed it over.

A pink heart was on the cover of the card. Shizuka flipped it open. "'For you in full bloom.'"

"The first time I saw you, I thought you were as radiant as a flower," Honda said in a soft tone. Shizuka glanced at him. "I read that wisteria grew best in full sun, and I thought, that does sound like Shizuka. So, um…"

"Honda, I'm aware that you've liked me for a long time," Shizuka started, "but I'm not ready to enter another relationship as of yet."

"… I thought so," he sighed, shoulders slumping in dejection. "Jou told me the same thing."

"Is your Friday night open?"

"… What?"

"I said I didn't want a relationship, but I don't mind a date," Shizuka smiled as Honda's eyes widened.

"You… of course I'm free on Friday!" Honda had straightened up again, glee brimming in his eyes. "Where do you want to go?"

"There's a movie I want to watch, and the café just outside campus sells really good gelato… it's called The Patisserie-"

"Okay, movie on Friday night, and then gelato," Honda had whipped out a pen and was scribbling on his palm. "I'll pick you up at six?" He looked at Shizuka hopefully.

"Sure," Shizuka nodded. The next moment, she found herself lifted off the ground by Honda, and then spun around in a circle. "Honda, what-"

"I'm going on a date with Shizuka! Whoo! Hear that, Otogi? I, Honda Hiroto, is going on a date with Kawai Shizuka!" Honda yelled in glee, ignoring Shizuka's protests, but she couldn't help laughing along with Honda's whoops of joy. When he finally let her down, she smacked him on the arm.

"Don't ever do that again!" Shizuka chided as she stumbled to get her balance back, although she couldn't help the grin spreading across her face. "I'll see you on Friday."

"Thanks, Shizuka," Honda said. He stared at her for a few moments, seemingly contemplating something, before planting a quick kiss on her cheek and then dashing off.


End file.
